


Always Building Something

by lil_1337



Category: One Direction RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Get Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 04:00:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15088541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: AU where Niall is a tour guide in Chicago.Sequel to ‘Come Touch Me’.Represents text messages.





	Always Building Something

Liam huddled deeper into the brightly colored scarf he had wrapped around his neck. It was soft and warm, his two favorite things now that Chicago was blanketed under a pile of cold, wet, snow who happened to be inseparable from its best friend, freezing ice. With a grateful sigh he pushed open the door to the gym; stopping to stomp his boots somewhat clean before going inside. Liam made his way across the training area, skirting the boxing ring that dominated the room, reveling in the feel of the heated air on his chilled skin. By the time he reached the locker room he was starting to feel too warm and stripping off his heavy outer clothes was something he looked forward to instead of dreading. 

To be honest, the amount of snow and the way the cold days drug on was really starting to throw him. He’d known about the winters before the move, but knowledge wasn’t the same as the day to day realities of cold that buried itself into his bones so he felt like he would never be truly warm again. Being home for close to a month hadn’t helped either. It was so strange, when he was in Chicago he’d missed home, but when he’d been home he found that he missed Chicago. It’d surprised him how quickly the city and her people had gotten under his skin. Especially Niall, a little voice whispered in the back of his head. Niall was his best mate so that made sense. He ignored the way the little voice had grown enough of a face to smirk at him and pushed the thought to the side.

He’d missed Louis’ snarky comments, Harry’s sweetness, and the way Zayn managed to fool everyone into thinking he was the bad boy of the group. He’d missed always being able to have someone to talk to who understood what he was going through at the moment. What had started out as social convenience had become friendships as soccer games and study sessions had melted into snowball fights and cramming for finals.

Along the way he had probably eaten triple his weight in pizza.

Being home had confirmed for him he was over the break up. There had been no sense of longing when he had driven past his ex’s house. No lingering sadness or wishing for things to be different. Just a vague feeling of something. He wasn’t even sure how to define it; nostalgia or muscle memory maybe. The person he had been back in August was not who he was now. It might only have only been six months, but he had spent the whole time on the steep incline of a tall learning curve and that changed a person.

Dressed now in his workout clothes Liam headed to the training floor to find someone to lace him into his gloves. What he really needed right now was to work up a good sweat and clear his mind.

***********

Niall burrowed deeper under his covers, fighting the knowledge that he needed to get up soon. Tuesdays were his lazy days, He only had one class and it wasn’t until after lunch. Mornings were for sleeping in and catching up on homework though mostly the first one. Checking the clock he noted that the cafeteria had stopped serving breakfast half an hour ago. Fortunately there were a ton of other options on campus and in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, that meant getting out of his nice warm bed, putting on clothes, and slogging through the snow. None of which held any appeal. 

Giving up the fight he stretched then crawled out of bed to stretch again. The good news was that he had shopped recently so there was food that did not require him to change clothes. He’d been back a week and the jet lag was long gone, but the sense of missing something lingered. It always did for a while until he got back into the flow of his life. This year, for reasons he hadn’t been able to sort out it was worse. He’d been excited to go home and see his family and equally excited to come back, but now that it had faded he felt grey and wrung out like the sky outside his window. 

It was probably just the post holiday, too much snow, I need Spring now blues. He’d experienced something similar last year, but it seemed like it was later. Maybe it was because the snow had been more of a novelty and it had taken him longer to get tired of it. 

There was something teasing at the corners of his mind, but Niall refused to acknowledge it. That way led to dangerous things.

His phone chimed and Niall picked it up, registering that he had text message from Louis. 

_Sledding. Proctor’s Hill. Get your asses out here._

Niall grinned, his blues falling away before he remembered that he had a test to study for. Sighing, he quickly replied.

_Sorry. Have to study for a test_ He added a crying face and broken hearted emoji to the end before setting the phone down to make some tea and heat up last night’s leftovers for breakfast. 

When he sat down at the table with his notes and breakfast there was another text waiting from him. 

_All work and no play makes Nialler boring as fuck_ Louis had added a laughing emoji to the end, but Niall couldn’t help thinking that maybe he had a point. On the other hand sledding wouldn’t keep him on the Dean’s List so it was also possible that Louis was just a giant asshole.

Feeling the slight lift in his mood dissipate Naill opened his notebook and began to review his notes, eating as he did.

Half an hour later his phone buzzed and Niall blinked then shook his head, grateful for the momentary reprieve. This one was from Liam and just seeing his name pop up was enough to make Niall smile. There was a photo attachment and Niall clicked on it to reveal a picture of Proctor’s Hill. It was covered in snow and the sun reflecting off of it gave it a feeling of warmth despite the obviously cold conditions. Off to the side Harry and Louis were standing, arms casually draped over each other’s shoulders and both flashing a peace sign.

_Come play with us!_

Niall set the phone down and went to refill his tea. _Can’t. Sorry._ He skipped the emojis this time, hoping that would give the message that he was serious not just playing hard to get.

He had just started the next section in his notes when his phone sounded again. He tried to ignore it, but managed less than five minutes before giving in with an indignant huff. This text was from Zayn and contained no text, just a video. Niall clicked on it and was a wide shot of Liam, Harry, and Louis at the top of the hill zoomed in close on Liam and stayed with him as he took his turn on the red plastic slide Niall recognized from the previous year. Liam was apple cheeked from the cold and had a grin that made Niall smile back in response. At the bottom of the hill the sled overturned and Liam ended up in a heap. He rolled over onto his back and was grinning up at the camera when the video ended.  
Unable and unwilling to stop himself Niall watched the video again then carefully saved it to his phone’s internal memory. He set the phone down then picked it up and carried it across the room and plugged it into the charger, hoping that distance would help with the temptation to check his messages. 

Settling back with his notes Niall forced himself to focus instead of thinking about the video and how happy Liam seemed to be.

It was longn’t, 3 or 4 minutes, before the text notification sounded again. Telling himself that he would be able to keep his attention on work better if he wasn’t sondering about the text he got up and checked his phone again.  
This one was from Harry and it was a single still of Liam. He was caught in the process of making a snow angel. His smile was soft and sweet, instead of raucous laughter of a few moments before. Just looking at it made Liam’s heart ache in the best possible way. 

_Limited time offer_

Apparently spending time with Louis was rubbing off on Harry because he could be a world class dick too when he wanted to be. 

Slamming his notebook shut with more force than was necessary, Niall fought to force down the feelings that had been trying to work their way to the surface since he had gotten back to Chicago. 

He and Liam were friends. Good friends. Best friends. They got each other in a way that other people didn’t. He and Harry always had a laugh when they hung out, Louis could be counted on for a game of soccer and a pint, and Zayn was surprising observant about life though he masked it under a heavy layer of sarcasm. But, there was something different about Liam. 

He looked forward to hanging out with the other guys and he missed them if a day or two went by there wasn’t the longing ache or sense of emptiness that came from not seeing Liam. Being away on break had proven that Niall was not as over his crush as he had thought. In fact it seemed to have grown into something more without him actually being aware of it. Though it appeared that he was the only one who wasn’t.

“Fuck me sideways!”

Niall stood, rocking his chair back and almost knocking it over then hurried into the bedroom to get dressed. If he was lucky he could still get in some sledding before he had to get to campus for class.

***********

“Where’s Zayn?” Liam dropped into a chair next to Niall and stretched out his legs before relaxing into the cushions. 

“New girlfriend.” Louis made a rude gesture making it clear what he assumed Zayn and said girlfriend were doing. “Can we start the damn movie now that Liam’s here?” the last statement was directed at Naill who flipped him off with one hand while grabbing the controller for the wii with the other. 

On screen the opening sequence rolled and the rising music flowed through the speakers. The movie was one that Liam had seen over the break with his family so he wasn’t immediately pulled into it. Instead he let the dialogue roll over him and let his attention drift to observing his friends.

On the couch Louis was stretched out with Harry leaning bonelessly against him. They looked comfortable and relaxed as they shared a bowl of popcorn back and forth. For a second Liam felt a stab of melancholy and longing. Not for the relationship that had recently ended, but for the loss of someone in his life that he could be that casually intimate with. He loved being in a relationship; having a special someone to share his life with. He was jealous he realized with a start, not of Harry or Louis, but of what they had.

He’d put off thinking about dating because he wanted to get settled and focus on school for at least the first semester, but maybe it was time to rethink that now that he had something of a handle on what he was doing. His eyes flicked to Niall who was either engrossed in the movie or sleeping with his eyes open. He had been weird lately, strangely distant and more busy than the previous semester. Liam wasn’t sure if something was up or if Niall was just carrying a heavier class load this time. 

He’d thought Niall was interested in him, but lately he wasn’t sure that was true. In the past when Louis made a comment Niall would blush and glare at him, but since the day they had gone sledding he had been shutting Louis down without even a hint of his usual humor. Something had changed and Liam had no idea what it was. The only thing he could think of was Niall was over his crush, if there had even been one in the first place. It was just as possible Liam had misread the situation, he had been pretty sure that they were flirting more than once, but maybe he’d been wrong. After all Niall was that guy, the one who was friendly and teased everyone he interacted with. 

Whatever the situation, Liam valued Niall too much as a friend to risk losing him. 

There was this guy in his economics class that kept offering to buy Liam a coffee. Maybe it was time to say yes. The guy was nice and good looking even if he wasn’t really Liam’s type. It wasn’t like he was planning a wedding or anything, just an afternoon hanging out together and getting to know each other. It would be a good way to ease back into the game. 

***********

The sign on the door advertised the place as a coffee shop, but it was really more of a bakery that specialized in breakfast goods and thick, dark, aromatic coffee. In addition to several different kind of brews they also carried a range of teas including one that Niall swore tasted like home in a mug. The scones were good too even if they were sweet instead of savory. 

The week had been cold, wet, and filled with more snow than should be legal outside of the arctic circle so Niall hadn’t been surprised at all to find himself snuggled into a back booth with a mug of tea and a white chocolate raspberry scone. On the table in front of him was a colorful brochure from the Art Institute that advertised their newest exhibit, one that Liam had mentioned an interest in seeing. 

It was that or ice skating, Niall couldn’t decide. Ice skating would be romantic, but the Art Institute would be inside and warm which was really appealing too. Part of him wanted to have a plan in place when he finally took the plunge and asked Liam out and part of him wanted to let Liam make the choice. It might not even matter, Liam might turn him down flat which would hurt. A lot. But Niall would get over it and then he would know that it was all in his head and he could work with that. He’d been friends with crushes before and it turned out fine. 

He was nothing if not a reasonable person. Mostly. After a good sulk.

He’d almost decided on ice skating when the bell chime sounded and a familiar laughter floated his way. Niall shifted in his seat, attempting to be subtle and not stare. The laugh he had thought he recognized was indeed Liam. His companion was someone that Niall didn’t know. It startled him to think that Liam had friends that he had never met. But then there were people that Niall knew he had never introduced to the group so it made sense. 

Still, it stung a little in a way that Niall knew he didn’t want to examine too closely since it probably said things about him he didn’t want to hear or acknowledge the truth of.

They approached the counter and Liam’s friend placed a hand on the small of Liam’s back to urge him forward and let it linger just a moment too long. After they both ordered the friend playfully brushed off Liam’s attempt to pay. Niall’s eyes narrowed and he could feel a hollow feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. If this wasn’t a date it was the prelude to one and whoever this guy was he was clearly into Liam and the interest, from what Niall could see, was returned. 

So, he had been half right, Liam was bi or pan though his taste apparently ran to gorgeous blonds with money not Irish brunets that worked as tour guides. That really sucked, but at least now he knew and could start to put this crush or whatever it was behind him. 

When the two men were ensconced in a booth out of line of sight Niall crumpled the brochure in his hand then tossed it in the garbage can on the way out of the door.


End file.
